British Queen’s 92nd birthday celebrated

ISLAMABAD - The British High Commission Tuesday celebrated the 92nd birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. To celebrate the birthday, the British High Commissioner, Thomas Drew, held a reception in her honour at his residence in Islamabad.

Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik was the Chief Guest at the celebrations, which were also attended by prominent guests from the world of government, diplomacy, culture, academia and the media. The event also featured the music from a British military band – a woodwind quintet from the Band of the Irish Guards – and the best of British cooking.

Speaking on the Queen’s birthday party reception Thomas Drew said: “Thank you all for joining us at our party – in this fellow Commonwealth country – to celebrate the 92nd birthday of the Queen.”

He added: “The UK’s relationship with Pakistan is special. Our two countries have incredible people to people links and work particularly closely in the fields of education, health, culture and security. While these strong links extends to trade, our aim this year is to take our trading relationship to the next level.” He said his country’s big focus for work in 2018 was around the next generation of Pakistan, the two thirds of Pakistan’s population under the age of 25 “that is the key to the future stability, security and prosperity of this country – which matter so much to all of us.”

He said: “Helping that generation fulfill its great potential is a focus of our work. It is no coincidence that we do more on education here – through Department for International Development and the British Council – than in any other country in the world.”